Improvement in compound rails



about sans @strut @time E. R. SHEPARD, 0F SCRANTON, PENNSYLVANIA.

l Letters Patent No. 96,276, dated October 26, 1869; aatedated October 16, 1869.

IMPROVEMNT IN COMPOUND RAILS.

The Schedule referred t in these'Letters Patet and making part 0f the same.

To all @cham it may concern: l

Be it known that I, E.\R. SHEPARD, of Scranton,

Pennsylvania, haveinvented an lmprovement'in Gompound Rails; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same.

My invent-ion consists of a rail inv two sections, which are constructed,a'sfully'set forth hereafter, so that the upper section maybe inclined at any desired angle to Jthe lower-,may be reversed when necessary, an'd will always-have a firm bearing whatever may be its position.

In order to enable others skilled in the art to make and 'use my invention, I will now proceed to describe its construction and operation, reference being had to the accompanying drawi ng, which forms a part of this specification,l and in which- Figure l. is a transverse section of my improved compound rail;

Figure' 2, a side view of the same, and

Figure 3, an end view of a compound rail of the Ordinary form.

The rail is composed of two parts, namely, the up` per portion, A, of steel or superior iron, and the lower portion, B, which may be ot'int'erior iron or steel.

The upper portion of the rail consists of the head or`tread a, and the rib b, which is rounded at the lower edge to a true circle, land the lower,portion lconsists of a base, c, and a flange, d, the outer face of the latter, in the present instance, being inclined and the' inner face vertical.

In the base, at the inner side of the flange d, is a rounded recess, e, corresponding to the rounded lower edge of the rib b, which rests and turns in the said recess, as described hereafter.

The upper edge, z, of the ilange d is inclined, to correspond to the adjacent inclined under face of the head n, andthe rib b increases' in width from the point where it joins the head a to the rounded edge, so that both sides are inclined inrespect lto aline, -y, drawn through the centre ofthe portion A,

lhe two portions of the rail are secured together by bolts, C, which pass through openings in the rib b and llange d, the heads of the bolts being adapted to the inclined outer side of the rib b and the nuts g, bearing on slotted washers, It, which intervene between the nuts and the flange d.

In a longitudinal groove, o, which crosses the threads' of each bolt, tits a'pin, F, having a head at the outer end, and at the upper side a sharp-edged projection, n, which penetrates the nut and prevents-it from turning.

` 'Should the two vportions of the rail be brought together, so as to loosen the bolt, the wedge It will fall and fill the increased space between the'nut and the rib to be brought in contact with the inner facefof theilauge. The upper portion of the rail, therefore,

`asit bears on thelower portion at two points only,

will yield when pressure is applied by the bolts -hetween these two points, and, having a constant tenj dency to resume its original position, will be pressed Iirmly on its bearings, and will not become Yloosened and rattle'should the priessure' applied by the bolts he slightly reduced, or should the parts of the rail contract in consequence of a decrease of temperature.

In a compound rail havingr a vertical rib beneath the head, the' treads of carwheels, owing to the inclination of the same, bear upon the head of the rail at oneY side of a vertical line drawn through the centre of the bearing of the rib, iig. 3, the tendency of the wheel, therefore, is to force inward the upper from the lower portion of the rail," drawing out the bolts.

It will be seen that in my improved rail, the portion B is inclined outward to suoli an extent that the portion of the head a which forms'the bearing for the tread of the wheel is on the same vertical line, x y, g.,I, as the lower bearing of the rib b.-

there is, therefore, little or no'pressure upon the rail tending to force it laterally in either direction, so as to separate the two parts of the same andrupture the A fastening-devices.

Owing to the rounded form of the lower edge of the rib b and of the recess or socket e, a bearing-surfy face of the same extent and solidity is insured, whatever may be the inclination imparted to the portion A of the rail, this heilig avery important feature, as no other form of ybase will give a' full bearing when the inclination of the upper section of therail' is altered. y, y f One of the principal advantages resulting from this rounding of the-edge of the rib and its socket, is that the upper portion A of the rail may bereversed.

It will be seen, that owing to the inclination 'of the portion A, the treads of the wheels bear on thefaee of the tread a at one side only of th'e central line :e-fy. When, therefore, this side is Worn and battered, the reversing of the portion A will present anew and uri` l injured surface tothe wheel.

I claim as my'invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patentreversible, and having a head, a, and a flange, b, the

' lower edge ci' which is rounded to fit the recess e, substantially as and for the purpose described.

In testimony whereof', I have signed my name 'to `this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

p E. R. SHEPARD.

Witnesses: i

G. W. MAssEY, HOMER GLUTE. 

